I'm really tempted again to buy this definitive version, everything looks pin sharp and lovely with the real-time shadows.

I guess the big problem Nintendo have in showing the benefit is partly down to a change in TV sizes/technology. Many people will have played the original using a crappy composite (yellow) lead in 480i or 576i, but on an old 32inch or less CRT, it will have still looked amazingly HD-esq. On top of that, the visual style chosen (cell shading) is procedurally generated in object space so it provides excellent shading accuracy regardless or resolution.

At the time of the original WW launch, I was playing US imports at +120inchs on a Panasonic Projector via progressive scanned component video(480p NTSC) with cinema sound, so I might appreciate the visual improvement quite a bit compared to most, but with the game being excessively priced and with me having completed it 3 times already, I'm torn on the matter of whether to buy.

Well yeah, obviously running side by side in a small window is indeed a great comparison for the GC version as you're comparing everything but resolution, where imo it comes off worse. It looks less like WW and part of what makes WW so great is that crisp, vibrant cartoony style.

I am lucky to own a plasma with the best, cleanest scaling I've seen, so GC and Wii games still look much better and cleaner than you'd think.

That is open to debate about scaling, it will still look garbage compared to the Wiiu version imo on even the best of plasmas, but the sharpest output from Wii for de-interlacing and scaling is via the official RGB scart (576i). The Wii component output is significantly worse than the GC using the £50 official component lead. The Wii is probably the worst source of signal for any type of HD screen.

I completed Wind Waker and several other GameCube titles in the build up to the Wii U launch.

Last night I noticed the amber light on my Wii U; so I switched it on and the Toki Tori 2 + update was installed. I wish the PS3 worked like that; I've gave up on downloading PES and Fifa 14; I went to work came back and 94% of PES 14 was downloaded with Fifa 14 pending. My internet is a bit shit I only get a 125mbs per second download.

Shouldn't the difference be striking, though? We're talking two releases over a decade apart. If the Wii U version does look better than the original being played through component cables, shouldn't it be more than different lighting and crisper textures?

I mean I have the original game. It's good enough for me and I'm not thinking "this lighting could be better" - it still looks amazing. To sell this game and a Wii U to me I'd want something more.

It's a HD port. Unfortunately it does exactly what it says on the tin. Much like Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS. It would be great if they did do more. Arguably they'd have to to warrant the asking price, but I can't think of any particular HD ports to consoles that have gone above and beyond.

If Nintendo would just hurry up and confirm GameCube games for the Wii U Virtual Console, they could please everybody. I guess this very port is the reason an official announcement has been put on hold.

GameCube games for Virtual Console won't happen I don't think. They've obviously removed the compatibility for re-makes such as this. They don't even have N64, Megadrive, Master System etc games on there. Just NES and SNES, so there's a long way to go before the GameCube shows its face, if ever.

The Wii U could easily run Gamecube software, it can boot Wii games after all. It was removed in the interests of cost reduction and trimming out back catalogue rather than feasibility.

If Nintendo had gone for standard DVDs in the first place Gamecube compatibility might have made it, the mechanism to deal with both disc formats was something Nintendo obviously didn't like paying for they phased it out on the Wii even.

RyanDS wrote:
Just watched that comparison video on the front page and I genuinely thought that it was the other way around for the first couple of minutes! The GC version is so vibrant and lively, while the HD version is washed out and bland with very muted colours.

Graphics wise the only difference I can see is a very minor texture increase that is only noticable maybe 20% of the time.

Is this going to be another Silent Hill collection?

Even though the guy explains it clearly on the voice over, it says HD on the title screen in big letters, the year is current, and it looks hugely better than the right hand side?

"Good chess players think one move ahead. Great chess players think two or three moves ahead."

Cappy wrote:
Resident Evil Remake went above and beyond. That's the Yardstick you should be considering for the term remake.

Only because the original RE had dated so much visually, after only six years. Whereas WW has held up pretty well. Also, the REmake had loads of new content - they essentially took the PS1 original and fashioned an entirely new game out of it.

This is intended to be a faithful remake, just as Ocarina was on the 3DS, so there'll always be a backlash if they change it too much. It's meant to be the same game, just tweaked slightly and updated visually for modern TVs.

Cappy wrote:
The Wii U could easily run Gamecube software, it can boot Wii games after all. It was removed in the interests of cost reduction and trimming out back catalogue rather than feasibility.

If Nintendo had gone for standard DVDs in the first place Gamecube compatibility might have made it, the mechanism to deal with both disc formats was something Nintendo obviously didn't like paying for they phased it out on the Wii even.

It's not the loading mechanism that they wanted to get rid of, it was the ports on the side. Controller ports and memory card slots aren't free- and given the install base of the Gamecube vs the Wii, not that necessary. Its fairly safe assumption that the Nintendo loyal who bought a Gamecube would have got a Wii in the first few years, and hence got one with GC backwards compatibility. (I know I did.)

Putting ports for a ten year old console in the Wii U wouldn't make a whole ton of sense. At least we still get one generation of backwards compatibility, unlike PS4 and XBone.

Cappy wrote:
The Wii U could easily run Gamecube software, it can boot Wii games after all. It was removed in the interests of cost reduction and trimming out back catalogue rather than feasibility.

If Nintendo had gone for standard DVDs in the first place Gamecube compatibility might have made it, the mechanism to deal with both disc formats was something Nintendo obviously didn't like paying for they phased it out on the Wii even.

It's not the loading mechanism that they wanted to get rid of, it was the ports on the side. Controller ports and memory card slots aren't free- and given the install base of the Gamecube vs the Wii, not that necessary. Its fairly safe assumption that the Nintendo loyal who bought a Gamecube would have got a Wii in the first few years, and hence got one with GC backwards compatibility. (I know I did.)

Putting ports for a ten year old console in the Wii U wouldn't make a whole ton of sense. At least we still get one generation of backwards compatibility, unlike PS4 and XBone.

People must have a pretty low opinion of Nintendo's technical prowess if mapping control to other devices and passing off save data elsewhere could be considered an insurmountable stumbling block.

Ultimately it's a software problem, a problem that Sony tackled for instance, I could make as many virtual PS1 and PS2 memory cards as I liked on my PS3. I used PS1 arcade sticks and PS2 controllers with a USB adapter. Or alternately I could use the PS3 controller.

Are we seriously suggesting that it's impossible to pass control input over to a classic controller pro or the Wii U pad? It's a problem that can be solved with software.

On the other hand the min-DVDs, that's a physical problem that required a physical mechanism. That would always be a cost added to manufacture from the first unit off the production line to the very last.

Well I do see the points about why GameCube compatibility was removed, it does make sense in a way. However retro gaming is pretty big and Nintendo have such a history. I don't understand why they don't do special console releases (obviously at a higher price) to cater for fans of their past systems. The sole reason I invested in a Wii was because they said it would be compatible with all past Nintendo systems, which it was. I loved it for that reason and could enjoy new games too. I thought that would be the policy for the future.

At the moment I'd rather have a Wii with GameCube support than being able to play Wii U games. There seems to be the attitude with gaming where we point out that no other consoles have backwards compatibility more than one generation back. Just because it hasn't happened in the past doesn't mean we shouldn't change it for the future. I just find it a concern because of all the digital titles these days. If we can't move them along they're lost forever. I think gaming's past deserves a little more respect.